WMM BLOG

Oscar-Qualifying Filmmaker Clare Cooney Strikes Again

The Oscar-qualifying Cleveland International Film Festival welcomes Chicago filmmaker / actor Clare Cooney for the world premiere of her short film After: A Love Storyan intimate story of a couple trying to bridge the space that has emerged between them after surviving a violent event, this week. Cooney previously wrote, directed, edited, and starred in Runner, a chilling short film that played at 15 film festivals, collected six awards, and garnered her a “Filmmaker to Watch” nomination from the Oscar-qualifying Atlanta Film Festival. Her followup Pick Up made its festival premiere at the Oscar-qualifying Indy Shorts Film Festival  last year after already having received a half a million views on Omeleto. Detect a pattern?

The 15 minute short, filmed with a skeleton cast and crew, is about ex-lovers who reconnect on a car ride during the pandemic. Then their masks come...

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META ACQUIRES WMM

events industry marketing Mar 31, 2022

American media magnate, internet entrepreneur, and philanthropist Mark Zuckerberg wants to help you make the movies you want to see. Known for co-founding the social media giant Facebook, Zuckerberg has acquired WMM through parent company Meta Platforms. We Make Movies will now operate under the moniker We Make Metaverse, as the team prepares to implement innovative strategies envisioned by Zuckerberg, ushering in a new generation of technological advances to enhance the essence of community. 

What exactly is the nebulous concept of the metaverse? The term can can be traced back to Neal Stephenson and his canonized 1992 dystopian cyberpunk novel Snow Crash. "Like any place in Reality, the Street is subject to development. Developers can build their own small streets feeding off of the main one. They can build buildings, parks, signs, as well as things that do not exist in Reality, such as vast hovering overhead light...

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Finding Snow White w/ Fiona McDougall & Jonathan Villet

Congrats to WMM members, producer/director Fiona McDougall and writer/interviewer Jonathan Villet of OneWorld Communications for landing a special selection designation at the Sonoma International Film Festival! Their short documentary Finding Snow White screens at the festival (celebrating its 25th anniversary!) from March 23rd until March 27th. The film is an incredible contribution to the field of mental health. A powerful message around resilience, the human spirit, and the ways in which we can train ourselves to live life in the face of adversity. Beautiful and poignant.

We had a moment to catch up with the filmmakers - take a read, watch the trailer at the bottom of the piece, and catch the film at the festival if you can. 

WMM: What compelled you to make this film?

JV: I was compelled to make this film for a few reasons – the amazing personal journey of Ditta Oliker after the tragedy of her son’s murder, demonstrates how people can...

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Point Of View w/ Brie Eley of Here and Ready

* Mark your calendars for Sunday, March 31st - WMM Community Director Tehana  Fatima Weeks will be hosting an orientation for Here and Ready! *
 
We Make Movies is proud to be an ally to and partner with the casting database for Black actresses HERE AND READY, helmed by powerhouse Brie Eley. While cultivating her own career, actress, writer, producer, director, voice-over artist, and comedienne Eley founded  Here and Ready in an effort to increase POC visibility and opportunity. A private networking collective servicing more than 1,200 Black actresses across the U.S. and Canada, the platform is positioned to shift the landscape of casting. Through this endeavor, Eley has produced educational seminars, hosted networking events for the Casting Society of America (CSA), and launched a free and public talent database website, all while creating solidarity and connection amongst Black female talent.
 
Originally from Sugar Land,...
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A Legend Goes Indie - Point of View w/ Rah Digga

When We Make Movies greenlit filmmaker Mars Roberge's film Stars through the Make Your Feature Competition last November, little did we realize it would involve collaboration with hip hop royalty. Mars is nothing if not ambitious, so in casting the role of "Oprah" in his tale of homelessness, hope, and everything in between, he set the bar high. His vision was rapper, writer, actress, and activist Rashia Tashan Fisher – known to most as Rah DiggaBursting onto the hip hop scene at first through Twice Da Flavor and then under the umbrella of New Jersey collective Da Outsidaz (alongside heavyweights like Eminem), she was plucked by A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip and then Busta Rhymes, who positioned the unparalleled talent as the singular female MC of his own groundbreaking Flipmode Squad.
 
A decade into her tenure as one of rap's most distinguished and valued MC's (female or otherwise), she had collaborated on multiple hip...
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Make Your Feature Competition Film "Stars" Is In Production - POV: Mars Roberge

Award-winning director, producer, screenwriter, editor, and recent recipient of 25K through our We Make Movies' Make Your Feature CompetitionMars Roberge is many things. Canadian-American dual citizen. Creative shapeshifter. Industrious Complex of One. WMM VP of Content Eric Michael Kochmer refers to him as, "an infrastructure mastermind when it comes to logistical obstacles and understanding how to cope and get through them. He has six plans of attack prepared for each scenario, so to say he is intensely organized is an understatement." As the film Stars heads into production this week, Mars and company have already instituted "plan C" in several instances, from securing brand new locations that fell through at the eleventh hour to replacing key crew members who became the latest casualties of Omicron. Seemingly impervious to last minute revisions being made, Mars sets foot in New York City poised to roar "ACTION." 

Stars
, as are Mars' other...
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POV: Creative Services' Leading Lady Amy Rose Schumacher

industry marketing Aug 17, 2021

Every actor who comes to Los Angeles believes themselves as having well-rounded expertise in various artforms and the natural ability to shapeshift into any character. There are few who actually possess such versatility, and even fewer who successfully manage to showcase their range. Actor, stuntwoman, and prolific producer Amy Rose Schumacher is one such actor, who in a sea of blondes, humbly punches through the crowd demanding to be seen. Her comedic work has been featured on such prestigious platforms as WHOHAHA, her action reel could command reverence from the most seasoned athlete, and her productions have collectively garnered acceptance and accolades from top niche festivals from around the world. 

Schumacher brings her pragmatic sensibility to We Make Movies as our premier Covid Compliance Officer, and most recently Production Coordinator for the Creative Services division of the company. She applies the same grace under pressure...

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POV: The Filmmaker's Filmmaker - Felix Werner

We Make Movies
POV: The Filmmaker's Filmmaker - Felix Werner
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Felix Werner's journey through the arts has taken him down many paths, eventually leading him to carve out his own place in the world of all things indie. Hailing from an illustrious showbiz family (his father was celebrated stage and film actor Oskar Werner, his maternal grandmother was Joan Bennet), he naturally demonstrated a proclivity towards the visual arts, but it wasn't until after studying Art History at UCLA and working in the education and film departments at LACMA that he rediscovered his love for film. 

Diving into the studio system in various capacities left Werner wanting more autonomy and creative control so he and his wife Katherine Werner, launched Modern Media Company to bridge that gap. Under the umbrella of MMC they have produced content with a wide variety of styles, formats, and budgets, and Werner has helmed the company as an independent media financier, producer of films and original...

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Why Become A Member? What WMM Can Do For You

To our team of filmmaking professionals, a WMM membership sounds like a no-brainer. The Lab Pipeline alone is such a development boon for filmmakers in any stage of cultivating a project. Or is it our incomparable production insurance service that draws our community in? Actually, maybe it's our ever expanding menu of production services, or our constantly updated educational content? Or...
 
In short, if you are an indie filmmaker or content creator looking to create on your own terms, We Make Movies is the outfit for you. Whether you are looking for a community to foster your ideas, bolster your confidence, or provide you with a critical lens on your material, WMM is here for it. If you have a DIY spirit and are on an economical budget, we are here to help you solve your problems. If you are looking for a place that will give you the opportunity to make the movie that you want to see, it behooves you to become a member of WMM. 

What Level of...

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Writing Film Treatments: Why & How To Write Your Treatment

 

You have a story to tell, but before you embark on the process of writing the script, consider writing a treatment. A film treatment is a sexy outline of your story, a roadmap, a detailed synopsis of your film or visual project (music videos, commercials, etc.). It contains all the essential elements of your film, such as the core concept behind your story, significant scenes, main character arcs, and crucial plot points. It's purpose is to sell your story to a potential producer or investor but it's a valuable tool as part of the development process as well. It helps you explore the world in which your story lives, aids in nailing down the tone and genre of your project, and allows you to work out other kinks in plot points.

A treatment is the written pitch that can convince the reader, or in the case of our MAKE YOUR FEATURE COMPETITION, our investors (multiple) and producers (that's us - WMM) to want to read the full script. The basics...

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